Ballyholland Primary School

Overview

This report details a Sustaining Improvement Inspection conducted in May 2017, which was significantly limited by industrial action. Because staff refused to cooperate, the inspectors could not evaluate teaching quality or self-evaluation, leading to an inability to assure stakeholders of the education provided. A follow-up visit in September 2017 addressed safeguarding arrangements, which were found to broadly reflect Department of Education guidance.

Strengths

• The report notes that during the follow-up visit, "arrangements for safeguarding reflect broadly the guidance issued by the Department of Education."
• Year 6 pupils reported that they "feel safe in school" and know "what to do and who to talk to if they are concerned about their safety or well-being."
• The school was previously evaluated as "very good" in May 2014, indicating a prior high standard before the current industrial dispute.

Areas to improve

• The school must resolve the industrial action to allow for a full evaluation of "the quality of learning and teaching within the classrooms."
• The school needs to demonstrate its capacity for improvement through "self-evaluation and effective school development planning," which could not be assessed during the initial inspection.
• The ETI was unable to "evaluate fully the outworking of the arrangements for safeguarding" due to the ongoing strike action.

Safeguarding

The initial inspection found no evidence of satisfactory arrangements, but a follow-up visit confirmed that safeguarding procedures broadly reflect official guidance and that pupils feel safe.